III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 155 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should negotiate 

strong, inclusive, and forward-looking rules on digital trade and the 

digital economy with like-minded countries as part of its broader trade 

and economic strategy in order to ensure that the United States values 

of democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human and worker rights, 

privacy, and a free and open internet are at the very core of digital 

governance. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. CARDIN, 

and Mr. CORNYN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States 

should negotiate strong, inclusive, and forward-looking 

rules on digital trade and the digital economy with likeminded countries as part of its broader trade and economic strategy in order to ensure that the United States 

values of democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, 

human and worker rights, privacy, and a free and open 

internet are at the very core of digital governance. 

Whereas over half of the world’s population, totaling more 

than 5,000,000,000 people, use the internet; 


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Whereas the digital economy encompasses the economic and 

social activity from billions of online connections among 

people, businesses, devices, and data as a result of the 

internet, mobile technology, and the internet of things; 

Whereas the Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the 

digital economy contributed nearly 10.2 percent of 

United States gross domestic product and supported 

7,800,000 United States jobs in 2020; 

Whereas the technology-commerce ecosystem added 

1,400,000 jobs between 2017 and 2021, and served as 

the main job-creating sector in 40 States; 

Whereas United States jobs supported by the digital economy 

have sustained annual wage growth at a rate of 5.9 percent since 2010, as compared to a 4.2 percent for all 

jobs; 

Whereas, in 2020, United States exports of digital services 

surpassed $520,000,000,000, accounting for more than 

half of all United States services exports and generating 

a digital services trade surplus for the United States of 

$214,000,000,000; 

Whereas digital trade bolsters the digital economy by enabling the sale of goods on the internet and the supply of 

online services across borders and depends on the free 

flow of data across borders to promote commerce, manufacturing, and innovation; 

Whereas digital trade has become increasingly vital to United 

States workers and businesses of all sizes, including the 

countless small and medium-sized enterprises that use 

digital technology, data flows, and e-commerce to export 

goods and services across the world; 


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Whereas digital trade has advanced entrepreneurship opportunities for women, people of color, and individuals from 

otherwise underrepresented backgrounds and enabled the 

formation of innovative start-ups; 

Whereas international supply chains are becoming increasingly digitized and data driven and businesses in a variety of industries, such as construction, healthcare, transportation, and aerospace, invested heavily in digital supply chain technologies in 2020; 

Whereas United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai 

said, ‘‘[T]here is no bright line separating digital trade 

from the digital economy—or the ‘traditional’ economy 

for that matter. Nearly every aspect of our economy has 

been digitized to some degree.’’; 

Whereas industries outside of the technology sector, such as 

manufacturing and agriculture, are integrating digital 

technology into their businesses in order to increase efficiency, improve safety, reach new customers, and remain 

globally competitive; 

Whereas the increasing reliance on digital technologies has 

modernized legacy processes, accelerated workflows, increased access to information and services, and strengthened security in a variety of industries, leading to better 

health, environmental, and safety outcomes; 

Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic has led to increased uptake and reliance on digital technologies, data flows, and 

e-commerce; 

Whereas 90 percent of adults in the United States say that 

the internet has been essential or important for them 

personally during the COVID–19 pandemic; 


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Whereas United States families, workers, and business owners have seen how vital access to the internet has been 

to daily life, as work, education, medicine, and communication with family and friends have shifted increasingly 

online; 

Whereas many individuals and families, especially in rural 

and Tribal communities, struggle to participate in the 

digital economy because of a lack of access to a reliable 

and affordable internet connection; 

Whereas new developments in technology must be deployed 

with consideration to the unique access challenges of 

rural, urban underserved, and vulnerable communities; 

Whereas digital trade has the power to help level the playing 

field and uplift those in traditionally unrepresented or 

underrepresented communities; 

Whereas countries have negotiated international rules governing digital trade in various bilateral and plurilateral 

agreements, but those rules remain fragmented, and no 

multilateral agreement on digital trade exists within the 

World Trade Organization; 

Whereas the United States, through free trade agreements or 

other digital agreements, has been a leader in developing 

a set of rules and standards on digital governance and 

e-commerce that has helped allies and partners of the 

United States unlock the full economic and social potential of digital trade; 

Whereas Congress recognizes the need for agreements on digital trade, as indicated by its support for a robust digital 

trade chapter in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; 


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Whereas other countries are operating under their own digital 

rules, some of which are contrary to democratic values 

shared by the United States and many allies and partners of the United States; 

Whereas those countries are attempting to advance their own 

digital rules on a global scale; 

Whereas examples of the plethora of nontariff barriers to digital trade that have emerged around the globe include— 

(1) overly restrictive data localization requirements 

and limitations on cross border data flows that do not 

achieve legitimate public policy objectives; 

(2) intellectual property rights infringement; 

(3) policies that make market access contingent on 

forced technology transfers or voluntary transfers subject 

to coercive terms; 

(4) web filtering; 

(5) economic espionage; 

(6) cybercrime exposure; and 

(7) government-directed theft of trade secrets; 

Whereas certain countries are pursuing or have implemented 

digital policies that unfairly discriminate against innovative United States technology companies and United 

States workers that create and deliver digital products 

and services; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

is currently advancing a model for digital governance and 

the digital economy domestically and abroad through its 

Digital Silk Road Initiative that permits censorship, surveillance, human and worker rights abuses, forced technology transfers, and data flow restrictions at the expense of human and worker rights, privacy, the free flow 

of data, and an open internet; 


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Whereas the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Department of State highlighted significant 

human rights issues committed by the People’s Republic 

of China in the digital realm, including ‘‘arbitrary interference with privacy; pervasive and intrusive technical 

surveillance and monitoring; serious restrictions on free 

expression, the press, and the internet, including physical 

attacks on and criminal prosecution of journalists, lawyers, writers, bloggers, dissidents, petitioners, and others 

as well as their family members, and censorship and site 

blocking’’; 

Whereas the United States discourages digital 

authoritarianism, including practices that undermine 

human and worker rights and result in other social and 

economic coercion; 

Whereas allies and trading partners of the United States in 

the Indo-Pacific region have urged the United States to 

deepen economic engagement in the region by negotiating 

rules on digital trade and technology standards; 

Whereas the digital economy has provided new opportunities 

for economic development, entrepreneurship, and growth 

in developing countries around the world; 

Whereas negotiating strong digital trade principles and commitments with allies and partners across the globe enables the United States to unite like-minded economies 

around common standards and ensure that principles of 

democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human and 

worker rights, privacy, and a free and open internet are 

at the very core of digital governance; 

Whereas United States leadership and substantive engagement is necessary to ensure that global digital rules reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR155.IS SR155

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flect United States values so that workers are treated 

fairly, small businesses can compete and win in the global 

economy, and consumers are guaranteed the right to privacy and security; 

Whereas the United States supports rules that reduce digital 

trade barriers, promote free expression and the free flow 

of information, enhance privacy protections, protect sensitive information, defend human and worker rights, prohibit forced technology transfer, and promote digitally enabled commerce; and 

Whereas the United States supports efforts to cooperate with 

allies and trading partners to mitigate the risks of 

cyberattacks, address potentially illegal or deceptive business activities online, promote financial inclusion and digital workforce skills, and develop rules to govern the use 

of artificial intelligence and other emerging and future 

technologies: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the United States should negotiate strong, 

3 inclusive, forward-looking, and enforceable rules on 

4 digital trade and the digital economy with like-mind5 ed countries as part of a broader trade and economic 

6 strategy to address digital barriers and ensure that 

7 the United States values of democracy, rule of law, 

8 freedom of speech, human and worker rights, pri9 vacy, and a free and open internet are at the very 

10 core of the digital world and advanced technology; 

11 (2) in conducting such negotiations, the United 

12 States must— 


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1 (A) pursue digital trade rules that— 

2 (i) serve the best interests of workers, 

3 consumers, and small and medium-sized 

4 enterprises; 

5 (ii) empower United States workers; 

6 (iii) fuel wage growth; and 

7 (iv) lead to materially positive eco8 nomic outcomes for all people in the 

9 United States; 

10 (B) ensure that any future agreement pre11 vents the adoption of non-democratic, coercive, 

12 or overly restrictive policies that would be ob13 stacles to a free and open internet and harm 

14 the ability of the e-commerce marketplace to 

15 continue to grow and thrive; 

16 (C) coordinate sufficient trade-related as17 sistance to ensure that developing countries can 

18 improve their capacity and benefit from in19 creased digital trade; and 

20 (D) consult closely with all relevant stake21 holders, including workers, consumers, small 

22 and medium-sized enterprises, civil society 

23 groups, and human rights advocates; and 

24 (3) with respect to any negotiations for an 

25 agreement facilitating digital trade, the United 


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1 States Trade Representative and the heads of other 

2 relevant Federal agencies must— 

3 (A) consult closely and on a timely basis 

4 with the Committee on Finance of the Senate 

5 and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

6 House of Representatives about the substance 

7 of those negotiations and the requisite legal au8 thority to bind the United States to any such 

9 agreement; 

10 (B) keep both committees fully apprised of 

11 those negotiations; and 

12 (C) provide to those committees, including 

13 staff with appropriate security clearances, ade14 quate access to the text of the negotiating pro15 posal of the United States before presenting the 

16 proposal in the negotiations. 

Æ 


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